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CEO David Porter founded 8tracks in 2008 as a music platform exclusively focused on user-generated... [+] playlists, differentiating it from algorithm-based services Spotify and Pandora.

Crowd-curated internet radio platform 8tracks announced Tuesday morning that it was officially open to the public for equity-based crowdfunding up to $11 million via SeedInvest. This is following an email survey campaign launched in Jan. to ‘test the waters’ with users, which indicated that over 40,000 supporters would be willing to invest over $33 million for stakes in the company.

The nearly eight-year-old company is among the first to take advantage of the new SEC rules for non-public companies. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, the SEC created an exemption last year permitting private companies to offer and sell securities up to $50 million, which went into full force May 16. Traditionally, investors can only become accredited to invest if they have a net worth of at least $1 million or an income of at least $200,000. It is estimated that only 3% of the American population falls into this category.

For a music platform predominantly relying on users to curate content, the move made perfect sense.

8tracks filed with the SEC back in late March and received the green light almost three weeks ago. After a valuation of $28 million pre-money, the company made a deal with SeedInvest to sell up to $11 million Series A preferred stock to investors. The minimum an individual will be required to provide is $100, a lower price selected to accommodate the company’s primarily Millennial audience.

The new regulations will have different impacts on emerging companies depending on their size. For smaller companies, it will radically expand crowdfunding potential by allowing them to offer more than a T-shirt or other gimmick to entice funding. For more established companies like 8tracks, it will fill a void in current options of mid-level funding needed for essential pre-public growth.

“Companies being able to accept up to $50 million starts to occupy a space between early venture rounds and where a company might traditionally go public,” said Roy. “It creates another option for a very critical part of our growth.”

As the third largest pure-play music company according to comScore, 8tracks intends to use the money to launch projects that will help expand user experience and better compete with Pandora and iHeartRadio. This will include expansion internationally and the creation of new mobile features that have been in the works but lacked funding.

In addition to the 17 million registered users informed of the opportunity via email Tuesday, the SeedInvest partnership enables 8tracks to access the platform’s 16,000 accredited investors. The company says the incoming investments will be key for gains in the market in a time when many midsize players are going extinct like Live365 or being acquired like Songza by Google.

The SEC remains vigilant in warning crowdfunding investors of the dangers of investing in private companies, particularly startups. For this venture, however, participants can breathe a bit easier knowing they are joining the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, DJ Steve Aoki and Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman.

As an associate editor at Forbes, I cover young entrepreneurs and edit the 30 Under 30 lists. I'm particularly interested in companies finding unique ways to make our

…

As an associate editor at Forbes, I cover young entrepreneurs and edit the 30 Under 30 lists. I'm particularly interested in companies finding unique ways to make our world more sustainable. I previously wrote for The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel and the Weekend Argus in Cape Town, South Africa. I graduated from Northwestern University where I studied Journalism, Environmental Policy and Political Science. Follow me on Twitter @AlexandraNWil.